Apparatus for finishing roads



May 20, 1952 Filed Feb. 4, 1946 H. A. BARBER APPARATUS FOR FINISHING ROADS W41. WMJ/ Z 2 Sl-lEETS-Sl-EET i f/ irry H .Bnrbew May 20, 1952 H. A. BARBER APPARATUS FOR FINISHING ROADS Filed Feb. 4, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2' EYE-Z2 0. HEP/f FBFir-ber /mm HZ? 5 M a m w Patented May 20, 1952 2,597,221 rrangesron FINISHING BOA-13$:-

Harm- A: Batten-Aure assi nor to Barber- Greene Qornpanv, Aurora, 111., a corporation 1 lll imis Application February 4, 1946, SerialNo. @5351 Cla ms 1 This invention relates to improvements in a methodof andapparatus for-finishing roads, and more particularly the apparatus may be exemplifled by a machine of the character that. travels. along-a road to be finished, deposits material upon theroad, and compresses and smooths the .ma.-. terial-in order to provide a finished road surface, although the invention may-have other uses and purposesas'vrill beapparent to one skilled in the art. I

The physical embodimentoftheapparatus embodied inthe instant invention is an improvement upon road finishing machines of the general character-illustrated in Harry E. Barber United States Letters Patent No. 2,138,828 issued December 6, 1938,"and-P-atent No, 2,289,168, issued July 7, 1942. It will be understooi'pf course, that the instant invention need not be incorporated in a road finishing machine of the exact construction-shown in either of those patents.

In the past, many and various types of road finishingmach-ines performing many and various methodsof finishing roads-have been developed. Usually such machines included somemeans for dumping material upon a road-bed, means for I distributing the dumped material transversely ro s he. road-bed. am ing m a s or c pacting the di tri uted material. and a s reed Qr leveling and smoothing t e com cted mat ri to .provide. the ultimate, road suriace, Mach n of this character generally trav l along he be of .the road be ng fimshed andcdmplete the finishing of theroad as may .continually move forward, Obvious1y,.such maghines are rather large in size and costly to. manufacture. One of theitemsadding to the costiof prd iucti of such machines is the. tamping means and. the .essentiallassoeiated. mechanism for the proper operation of the tamping elements themselves. The elimination of such-Winnin means and as.- soreiated mechanismwould materially reduce the cast of uch-a machine.

.With .the ior gQing in vmind, it is .an important object of th instant invention to provide a road finishing machine in which. tamping means of the .characterheretefore used have been com .p te y el m nated-and repla ed by im l d mvn r uziv.ely inexpensive means capab e Qf Pr ingahetter result.

Another .ebject .of this inventien is the pro.- .uisien .of rmad finishing; maehine incorporating ,a material supplier and a. screed therebehind, w h ns d s osed b tween the -.supp1ier and screeda raneed .wo inuously trik cf im eri iled u an th izqa aad s nam -re ene th h seree tv i also. o ziest. of this. iv eiipe i P 32??? r d fini hi m mbeds-lee amat l upp in eer e? a ss eest it as es pdsed between the sqrsed 3. 1 9;? 9s newbie t @Qin act. mate e .e ed 1 9. the We? with. a cont n e-es rubbin e iqn $9 s tq knit e sur ace mate i l tqeet s aedzae in 2193 cen tion u i eets 129;; b ees- 5 Q9 A ,iur-ther ee, 'Q h Di tan EPWWZQR rssides in the provision of a road finishing maghine h mean isp sed hetwseea QQ terial su slie td me; pile up Q11 the arwardlv und r-nee Anothe eature o -th n. the. evision 9f 5 19... .s m i e wi h means r an ed t s9 e .aiqezi ii fiompflct n as: n, upenths m terial. h ifitflh th s eader. Semina he e i en str que zin etiqn he th i s-a es and 1 r ad-bed andat th sam t me bein er 5 ureedbeneat .thevscr s t s ill matte sheet a the eet eti vent p s the p q siqn f a road lis ns m ne 'e odyins rolle r ss re i e er etw a ssfies and a spreader, with the roller so situated asto c n usly a ines? m terial i ed 419 b P spr a er and t rse t e mater al eerw sl n athth scr e Also an biee o thi name is the n pvi ip f a e d n shin m sh ee em edy ns'a m l e in lie o tam in between a s ee a ri eneen. r s s I a spre der, such ll bees 9 l sp dha the f ard. ed e .o he sp ead. i v siibstant a l t m en ial to the ot om 9 he r ller- A further -.f. atun of th nv nt on nes d in the provision of a m d fin s ns ma hin in l e in a roller dispose betwe n a scree enda spreader, with a shield .or bafilearrangement in s Position as to pr vent ma erial piled up by t spr ad r om pas in .over the top of th Q ler 9 th r ar s d th reof- ,It i a sda b ect o thi in e tion to p ov e a r ad finish n machine e ui ed w t miler .d s deed .he we na re dand a v s teaql th r er ei e tee l dr at rate .91 p d travel of est thei wa ra ted 71937 e d. th e em es during qp rati Ii is @159 a i ed li pt f the pres nt ,in snt qe 2 11 mm neweed n ve t d b fin sh n Mea e ti ne lal ol r ipres e iees eri.

Whi s m Y f the 11.1 9 1 sent ent i atur s characteristics and advantages of the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will become apparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure -1 is a side elevational view, somewhat diagrammatic and with certain parts omitted, of a road finishing machine equipped with means embodying principles of the instant invention and capable of performing the novel method embodied in the instant invention; and

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the structure shown in the left central portion of Figure 1.

As shown on the drawings:

The illustrated embodiment of the instant invention is shown incorporated in a road finishing machine of the self -propelled type that moves constantly forwardly along a road-bed being finished. The machine embodies a pair of crawler tracks I which rest upon the road-bed diagrammatically indicated by the line 2. The frame structure of the machine is arranged to provide a receiving platform 3 between the crawler tracks which platform is bottomed by one or more endless conveyors diagrammatically indicated at dotted lines at 4. Another portion of the frame structure defines a suitable base 5 for the support of a power plant 6 such as an internal combustion engine which drives the crawler tracks to move the entire machine or vehicle forwardly.

At the forward end thereof the machine is provided with rollers l for engaging the rear tires of a truck carrying road finishing material. The truck dumps this material onto the platform 3 and it is conveyed rearwardly by the moving conveyors 4 and dumped on the road-bed at the rear end of the conveyors in front of a distributor or spreader 8 carried by frame members 9. As seen best in Figure 2, the spreader 8 is preferably in the form of a transversely disposed screw conveyor to laterally spread or distribute the road material across the entire width of the machine.

At the rear of the machine is a screed assembly carried by a pair of side arms pivoted at their forward ends to the frame of the machine as indicated at II.

The screed assembly includes a screed proper 12 upon which a box-like super-structure I3 is built having vertical front wall [4. A transverse beam l5 extends between the two side arms It), so that the full weight of the rear ends of these side arms rests upon the screed assembly. Suitable adjustment is provided in the form of one or more adjusting bolts [6 at the rear of the screed assembly the lower ends of which are engaged in pivot slots l1. With reference more particularly to Figure 2, it will be seen that the forward marginal portion of the screed I2 is beveled as indicated at 18, the bevel being upon the upper surface of the screed.

Between the distributor or spreader 8 and the screed [2, a roller or pressure feeder 19 extending substantially the full width of the machine is carried on a shaft 20 mounted in suitable bearing bracket supports. One end of this shaft is also provided with a sprocket wheel 2| which may be engaged by a chain 22 extending over another sprocket wheel 23 carried by an upper horizontal shaft 24. The shaft 24 is driven from still another transverse shaft 25 by way of a sprocket chain or the equivalent carried inside aprotective housing 26. The shaft 25 is in turn driven from the prime mover 6 by a sprocket chain or equivalent mechanism carried in a suitable protective housing 21.

Thus, it will be seen that the prime mover not only propels the entire machine forwardly along the road-bed, but also drives the feeder IS! in a forward direction at the same time. The spreader 8 may also be driven from this prime mover in any suitable'manner.

It should be noted that the drive arrangement from the prime mover to the roller or pressure feeder I9 is preferably such that this roller is driven at a faster rate of speed than warranted by the forward travel of the vehicle, so that the undersurface of the roller travels rearwardly at a speed greater than would result from mere contact with the surfacing material. In other words, the roller 19 is driven at a suficiently fast rate of speed that slippage would result if it were traveling over a surface identical with that upon which the crawler tracks I travel.

From the showing in Figure 2, it will be noted that the roller I9 is preferably so disposed as to rest upon the bevel l8 of the forward edge of the screed 12, so that the forward edge of the screed is substantially tangential to the bottom of the roller. Further, the roller is disposed in a socket formed by the projecting forward portion of the screed, the vertical front wall M- of the screed assembly, and a lower substantially horizontal portion 28 of an arcuate bafile or shield 29. This shield extends upwardly and forwardly above the roller [9 and over the top of. the spreader 8 as seen clearly in Figure 2. Ob-- viously, this bafiie or shield 29 is for the purpose: of preventing road surfacing material from: passing over the top of the roller [9 and getting behind the roller. With reference again to Figure 2, it will be seen that the roller 19 takes the place of expensive tamping mechanism formerly used on machines of this character. Not only does it take the place of such mechanism, but the roller [9 actually performs a better and different result than tamping mechanism is capable of performing. In addition, the roller 19 is considerably less expensive to install and operate than tamping mechanism of the type heretofore used.

In operation, as road surfacing material, generally indicated by numeral 30 is deposited upon the road-bed by the conveyors 4, the spreader 8 distributes this, material transversely across the road-bed to the width of the machine. Accordingly, this material will pile up adjacent the spreader as indicated in Figure 2. The roller I9 next contacts the material so piled up by the spreader, and as also indicated in this same figure, the roller not only compacts the material but forces it rearwardly beneath the screed l2 so that a finished road surface results as generally indicated at 3|. In compacting the material it being recalled that the machine is moving forwardly continuously, the frictional resistance of the road-bed holds the material in place so as to give a true squeezing action between the roller l9 and the road-bed.

It should also be recalled that the roller is traveling at a faster speed than warranted by the forward movement of the vehicle. This faster rate of travel accomplishes several results. It eliminates any hazard of the roller acting as a bulldozer and tending to push the material ahead of it. Further, it helps the roller to strike off material from the pile created by the spreader and tuck that material under the forward edge of the screed. In addition, the roller provides a rubbing action upon the material in the pile and thus knits the surface material together and maintains it in that condition as it is forced rearwardly under the screed. This provides a smoother finish to the road.

Preferably, the roller [9 is relatively small to eliminate any crushing action akin to that of a steam roller, rather than the desired compacting of the surfacing material.

My novel method of striking off road material from the spreader pile, rubbing the material, compacting it, and force feeding it rearwardly under a screed or other means for smoothing the ultimate road surface is believed to be sufficiently apparent from the foregoing as to warrant no further specific description herein.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that I have provided a novel road finishing apparatus which eliminates one of the most expensive portions of construction of apparatus heretofore known, and which provides an economical substitute for the part eliminated, which substitute performs a different and better result. It will be noted that the surfacing material is not only compacted, but knit together in its upper portion and force fed rearwardly beneath the screed. The entire apparatus is economical to build and operate. It should also be noted that I have provided a new and novel method of finishing a road.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a road finishing machine, a screed to smooth material on a road-bed as the machine travels along the road-bed, and a pressure feed roller mounted immediately adjacent said screed to compress material and force feed it beneath said screed, and means forrotating said roller at a faster rate of speed than warranted by the rate of travel of the machine.

2. In a road finishing machine that travels along the road being finished, material supplying means, a screed immediately adjacent the rear of said means, and a relatively small roller feeder adjacent said screed, and means to drive the undersurface of said roller rearwardly at a faster speed than warranted by the travel of the machine to cause the roller to rub the material piled up by said means and press it under said 6 screed thus keeping the surface material knit together.

3. In a road finishing machine that travels along the road being finished, material supplying means, a screed to the rear of said means, and a pressure feed roller between the screed and supplying means positioned so that the forward edge of said screed is substantially tangential to the bottom of the roller, and means for rotating the undersurface of said roller rearwardly toward the forward edge of said screed at a velocity higher than the contact velocity.

4. In a road finishing machine, means for supplying material to a road-bed as the machine moves forwardly along the road-bed, a screed to the rear of said means, a roller pressure feeder to act on the material between said means and said screed, said feeder being positioned immediately adjacent the forward edge of said screed, and means for rotating the undersurface of said feeder rearwardly at a velocity greater than the contact velocity.

5. In a road finishing machine that travels along the road being finished, material supplying means, a screed to the rear of said means, said screed being beveled on its upper forward edge, a pressure feed roller between said screed and said means, and means for rotating the undersurface of said roller rearwardly toward the forward edge of the bevel of said screed at a higher velocity than the contact velocity.

HARRY A. BARBER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,392,161 Hilts Sept. 27, 1921 1,533,085 Arnett Apr. 14, 1925 1,628,088 Webb May 10, 1927 1,755,653 Koehring Apr. 22, 1930 1,782,707 Bayley Nov. 25, 1930 1,897,605 Clifford Feb. 14, 1933 2,035,627 West Mar. 31, 1936 2,090,959 Jackson Aug. 24, 1937 2,136,917 French Nov. 15, 1938 2,138,828 Barber Dec. 6, 1938 2,245,426 Baker June 10, 1941 2,252,188 Krehbiel Aug. 12, 1941 2,303,336 Day Dec. 1, 1942 2,333,041 Poulter Oct. 26, 1943 

